Casino gaming, also referred to as wagering games, gambling, gaming, or the like, may occur in a physical, brick-and-mortar casino or a virtual, online casino. These types of casino or wagering games usually include three components: a wager, chance, and a reward. That is, casino or wagering games are usually games in which the outcome of a wager, that is, the reward, is determined by chance, which predominates over every other factor, including skill. For example, chance predominates in card games such as poker, blackjack, or the like, even though some skill is involved. Specifically, chance, rather than the player's skill, determines which cards are dealt to the players, which cards are dealt to a dealer, if any, which cards are cut from the deck or shoe of cards, and so forth. In other wagering games, such as reel slot games, numbers games (such as keno, lotto, pull tabs, or the like), dice games, wheel games (such as roulette), or the like, chance is practically the only factor to determine the outcome of the wagering game, with skill having no influence on the symbols or numbers drawn, rolled, or spun.
As may be appreciated, the outcomes of wagering games can usually be determined by the strict probabilities that govern the games and, therefore, the hold for the game operator over the long term can be predicted. As may further be appreciated, this may not be true for skill games, in which the outcomes would vary from player to player based on the player's skill. As may be appreciated, wagering games must be operated for a profit over the long term and would generally not operate games that allow certain players to improve their performance through practice. Consequently, casinos will not, and in some jurisdictions cannot, offer games in which skill predominates.
A well-known consequence of how probability can affect online casinos is that online casinos require massive volumes of players to maintain liquidity. That is, house-banked games, i.e., those games in which the online casino operator banks wagers by collecting losing wagers and paying winning wagers, are particularly profitable for casinos because the games include a built-in house edge that guarantees the game will be profitable in the long term. However, the win or loss from these games can fluctuate wildly in the short term, such as when a player has a winning streak, and the casino operator must maintain a reserve of cash to pay off all winning bets. Conversely, player-banked and parimutuel games are more predictable in the short term because the casino operator does not collect losing wagers and pay winning wagers. Rather, in a player-banked game a player-banker banks the other players' wagers and in a parimutuel game, the players contribute to a pot that is awarded to the winning player(s). In either case, the casino operator collects a fee for administering and operating the game. This fee is levied regardless of the outcome of the game, so the casino operator makes money on every game. However, because the fee is generally low, the casino operator must generally have a high volume of play to be profitable.
Live games, such as live table games, keno, bingo, and the like, are well known in the casino gaming industry. Most of the recent development in live games, however, has been in producing new games, such as Spanish 21™ or Let It Ride™, developing new side bets for existing games, such as the Lucky Ladies side bet for blackjack, or networking live games to produce large, progressive jackpots, rather than using the live game to produce a separate and independent game to draw new players who may be uncomfortable with the live game format.
Electronic casino games have increased in popularity. With the rise in popularity, and because electronic casino games are often less expensive to operate, much innovation has taken place in the electronic casino game industry. These include linked and standalone jackpots, community gaming, internet gaming, mobile gaming, server-based gaming, and a myriad of other developments that span a variety of categories. Even when electronic casino games are based on the same or similar mathematical model, computer graphics and animation can make the same game look completely different across different gaming machines.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a system and method for conducting a game feature at a live or electronic game by converting game indicia selected and dealt at the live or electronic game to a data stream for conducting a game feature that is separate and independent of the underlying live or electronic game.